Ja Morant doesn't deserve star treatment because he isn't a star

Ja Morant has spent his entire adult life getting whatever he wants. That is often the case for a basketball star who makes it big in the NBA, acquiring fame, fortune and devotion. Yet his latest temper tantrum shines a massive spotlight on a truth that the Memphis Grizzlies don't want to publicly acknowledge: Ja Morant is no longer a star player.

Friday night kicked off NBA Cup action for the season, and each team will play just four games to decide whether they advance in the tournament. It was the first "high stakes" night of the year, and the Memphis Grizzlies were in prime position, hosting the Los Angeles Lakers down multiple players, including LeBron James.

Ja Morant was upset

The Grizzlies were leading at the half, but something changed coming out of the locker room. Ja Morant was visibly loafing through the second half of the game, turning off his motor and playing at something akin to half speed on both ends of the court. He shot 0-for-5 in the third quarter and 0-for-2 in the fourth in a game the Grizzlies lost by five. To the watching eye, he was visibly downcast and obviously playing at less than his full speed and intensity.

As reported by ESPN, Memphis head coach Tuomas Iisalo challenged Morant after the game, calling out his leadership and effort. Morant responded by loafing into his postgame media availability and answering nearly every question the same: "Go ask the coaching staff." When pressed on what the team could have done better, he said, “According to them, probably don’t play me."

There will be more reporting casting light on what changed during halftime, but it's clear that Morant became upset about something and it affected his play. It also seems to have bled over to the rest of the team, who wilted in the face of a Lakers team that was vulnerable enough to defeat.

In response to Morant's play and his postgame comments, the Grizzlies suspended him for one game for "conduct detrimental to the team." Often star players get away with being direct to the media because of the influence they wield in an organization. That did not happen with Morant.

There are two categories of players who expect to receive star treatment. The first are current stars, the MVP contenders and perennial All-NBA winners who drive winning and are indispensable to their teams. If Giannis Antetokounmpo wants his brother on the team as moral support, he gets it. If prime Jimmy Butler wants to fly at a different time to a game on occasion, it happens.

These stars check the boxes of being a star: they drive winning at an elite level, they put up big numbers, and they have legitimate name recognition among fans. The second category of player who expects star treatment, however, checks only one box: the former star.

These players are still famous and so they feel like a star, but their play no longer backs that up. This player is dangerous to a team; they expect to be treated like a star, with all its privileges, but they are not worth the trouble to teams any longer. The reality is that Ja Morant is now firmly inside of this bucket, yet he almost certainly does not see it that way.

Ja Morant is no longer a star

In 2022-23, Ja Morant was an All-Star and ranked 12th in MVP voting. His combination of intensity and highlight plays raised his profile through the roof, and he ranked in the top 20 in most all-in-one advanced metrics. He fit the definition of a star.

Morant is no longer that player. He appeared in just nine games the following season due to suspension related to off-court maturity incidents and injury. Last season he played in just 50 games, yet that was enough to clash repeatedly with former head coach Taylor Jenkins and, most believe, was the primary reason he was fired with mere days remaining in the season.

Morant has acted as if he is untouchable because of his star status -- at times that has proven true, as the Grizzlies have capitulated to him, and at other times he has been incorrect and felt the pain. Yet underneath all of the drama is the reality that he is no longer a star player.

Throw out the 2023-24 season and its nine games, but last year Morant was not a star-level player. He put up points, yes, averaging 23.2 points per game, but he did so on decreased efficiency and accompanied by career-high turnovers and lowered free-throw rates. He stopped driving to the rim and began settling for jumpers. The 48-win Grizzlies were hardly better with Morant on the court than when he sat.

He has lost a step on offense and shifted his shot diet from truly putting pressure on opposing defenses to settling. He will have occasional flashes to remind everyone of the player he once was, but in between long stretch of good, but certainly not star-level play. This season he is averaging just 20.8 points per game on frigid efficiency and the fewest assists per game of his career. Box Plus-Minus ranks him as below replacement level thus far this season; if either of the team's other point guards were healthy, the difference would likely be even more stark.

Ja Morant is heading down a dangerous road, where he demands to be fawned over and worshipped by the Grizzlies while providing them with mediocre play. He is not a terrible player by any means, and Memphis has desperately needed him this year with Ty Jerome and Scottie Pippen Jr. sidelined. Is he a star? Is he a Top-25 player in the league? Absolutely not, and thus far this season he has been much worse even than that.

Morant has to make a choice. Is he going to allow himself to be challenged by his coaching staff and teammates and rise to the occasion? Or is he going to sulk and pout and torpedo the Grizzlies?

This is a team talented enough to make some noise, but they need their leaders to step up. Thus far, Morant has decided to check out. Stars get some leeway when that happens; former stars get pushed out of the spotlight very quickly. If Morant is not careful, his career will spiral out of control before he knows it.